The Bottom Line
- Accountability for Inaction: Government agencies that miss statutory decision deadlines can be ordered to pay the legal costs of applicants who challenge the delay in court.
- A Tool to Force Action: Filing an appeal against government delay is a recognized legal strategy that can successfully compel a sluggish administrative body to finally issue a decision on a pending application.
- Proportional Costs: While legal fees are recoverable in such cases, the amount is standardized and reflects the complexity of the issue. A simple procedural challenge for a delay results in a lower, “light-weight” cost award.
The Details
This case revolved around a straightforward, yet all-too-common, administrative failure: delay. An applicant filed for asylum in May 2023. When the responsible government body, the Minister of Asylum and Migration, failed to issue a decision within the legally prescribed timeframe, the applicant took the matter to court in November 2024. The sole purpose of the appeal was to challenge the government’s failure to act. Subsequently, while the court case was pending, the Minister granted the asylum application in August 2025. This prompted the applicant to withdraw their court appeal, but they still asked the court to order the government to pay for the legal costs they had incurred.
The court’s decision hinged on a key principle in Dutch administrative law: Article 8:75a of the General Administrative Law Act. This rule is designed to ensure fairness when a government body only takes action after legal proceedings have begun, effectively making the lawsuit unnecessary. By issuing the long-awaited decision only after being taken to court, the Minister had “remedied the failure” that was the subject of the appeal. The court affirmed that in such situations, the government body is at fault for the legal costs, as its initial inaction made the lawsuit necessary in the first place.
Ultimately, the court ordered the Minister to compensate the applicant for their legal expenses. The amount awarded, €453.50, was calculated based on a standardized points system for legal proceedings. The court applied a “light” weighting factor (0.5), reasoning that the legal work was minimal because the appeal only concerned the procedural issue of a missed deadline, not a complex substantive legal debate. This ruling serves as a powerful reminder to anyone interacting with Dutch administrative bodies: the government can be held financially accountable for its delays, creating a strong incentive to adhere to statutory timelines.
Source
District Court of The Hague (Rechtbank Den Haag)
